Changing the state of matter using heating and cooling

Students will:
1. write useable procedures which can be tested by others.
2. observe how matter can be influenced by heating and cooling.
3. create questions to further their understanding of the states of matter.

Key concepts:
1. Identify the qualities of a solid, liquid, and gas.
2. Explain how the material has changed after heating/cooling.

Vocabulary:
thermometer goggles
solid boiling point
liquid freezing point
gas

This is ideal for a 4th grade class. I've done similar activities to this with 3rd through 6th grade in small groups. This lesson would span over 5-7 days. It is an inquiry based lesson. It requires students to develop their own observations, procedure, materials, data collection. This would be a guided inquiry meaning the students will be given the question and a selection of materials to test but the rest will created in small groups. There is necessary equipment as well access to a microwave or hot plates for students to heat the materials they are testing. Other needed materials would be goggles, freezer, tongs. This would be a lesson done later in the year for the students to successfully take on the responsibilities of creating their own materials, procedure, data collection, results, and conclusions about the investigation. This would provide hands on experience with how the states of matter change as a result of heating and cooling. I believe there is a Foss kit that also deals with the states of matter.

Today we will be testing how we can manipulate the state of matter with heating and cooling. Here are the materials available for you. What item can you predict the outcome for? (water: when chilled, ice cube & heated, steam). How might these items react to heating and cooling? Will they all change from one state of matter to another?

Your focus question:
What materials will change their state of matter when heated or cooled?

Provided materials:
(You will be allowed to test 5 of the items)

Olive oil glue
rock jello
plastic metal (penny)
wax wood chip
banana dry ice
glycerine soap water
butter salt water

Questions to discuss in groups:
Which materials are you most interested in testing?
(think pair share: write your choice items with because reasoning)
As a group decide which 5 items you will be testing

With these items in mind, develop how you implement your investigation:
How might we go about testing these items?

Planning chart
(attached)
Once procedural plans have been completed students will make predictions regarding what will happen to the material being tested. The statements require students to use the word because to justify their reasoning.

ex.
I believe wax will turn into a liquid when heated because when I light a candle the heat from the fire melts the wax as the wick burns.

The predictions do not have to be long but well thought out with reasoning presented as well.

Students will be given time to complete their investigation over a two day period. The items that have to be chilled will be placed into a freezer and students will make observations the following morning.

Students will use their data to write their conclusions:
As a class we will discuss what makes a good conclusion, Questions to think about when
After investigating how heating and cooling affect the state of matter, where your predictions correct?
Were you shocked by what happen with any of the given materials?
Be sure to put what you have learned from doing this investigation.
I learned...because

Remind students that new questions from this investigation should be written down as well in this section.


The planning chart can also be found in Using Science Notebooks in Elementary Classrooms by Michael P. Klentschy

Planning chart (Rich Text File 14kB Aug25 09)

I would highly recommend going over your safety procedures when dealing with heating materials in the classroom. Highlight the importance of keeping your goggles on while experiment is going on even if they are not taking an active part in the process. Safety first when dealing with heating and cooling materials with students. I personally like students having a basic understanding of what constitutes a solid, liquid, and gas and how we can identify a change in the state it is in. I use water as an easily identifiable matter for the three states. In the past my students have played simon says states of matter version to understand the idea that molecules are always moving but at differing levels you get different states of matter. We also discussed other materials that we knew changed states based on temperatures. This will be a new investigation in my classroom which will require support from available staff to help guide students while testing their materials.

Students will collect their information in their notebooks. It will be assessed based on its content. Does it have the question, observations, procedure, data collection, results, and conclusion? Did they use evidence to support their conclusions based on observations? Students will also write what they had learned from the investigation in paragraph form. It will provide information on where there are still misconceptions and further teaching will take place. Students will have a check list/rubric which is similar to the ones provided in Using Science Notebooks in the Elementary classroom by Michael P. Klentschy, p. 100.

Physical Science 4.2.1.2.2
Matter
Solids, liquids, and gases are states of matter that have unique properties.
Describe how the states of matter change as a result of heating and cooling.